Help Us O Lord!
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· Intro Self:
You may be seated……Children you may go to your classes…..I want to welcome everyone to Exodus, my name is Kyle Waters, I’m one of the deacons here …. We are continuing in our study of the Psalms today and as a Father of four, I am glad that our church teaches the Psalms. My kids, whether its my youngest in, children church or the older 3 in the service, they learn the songs of God’s people, the songs of Their people. I’ve always enjoyed music even though I don’t sing it very well, I went through phases growing up, I’d listen to some country, then some southern rock or CCM (Contemporary Christian Music), maybe a little bit of Hip Hop, R&B, or Pop. This developed my taste for a fairly wide range of musical styles. There are songs and styles for every occasion. My High School team always listened to “Eye of the Tiger” or “Welcome to the Jungle” before football games.At Amber and my wedding we played “The Maker said take her” by none other than the greatest band ever….. Alabama!When my cousin died in a car wreck we sang “I can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me and “When I Get where I’m Going” by Brad Paisley. How about you? What music and songs come to your mind when your recall or think of these kinds of occasions?Psalms is the song book of God’s people, and there are Psalms for every occasion. Intro Topic: The Psalms are full of rejoicing, sing, worship but are also full of pain, sorrow, lament, suffering and even questioning. [SLIDE: QUOTE]John Piper is absolutely correct when he says, the Psalms, “feature the emotional experience of the psalmist intentionally against the backdrop of divine truth”.
Transition: Now many people think that truth has nothing to do with our emotions and raise their kids to think the same.
However, our Psalm today makes it clear that God’s truth is not separated from our emotions. I don’t know about you, but I experience God’s work, providence and sovereignty in my day to day life. At times I am up-lifted by the happiness that comes from the His grace and mercy. However, there are times in this sinful world we are left questioning the actions of the almighty God. [pause][LOOK RIGHT]
We feel as though we are in a pit, perhaps even being brought down close to the grave. We are emotionally low, wondering how on earth could the pain and sorrow that we are experiencing could ever be good for us. We ask, “how could a sovereign and loving God allow us to fall into such sorrow and despair?” (pause)[LOOK LEFT]
The Psalms, the inspired song book of God’s people, meets us in and with our emotions. These Psalms are experiences of the intersection of divine truth and our emotions and they shape us. By grace and faith, they form us slowly….. but continually into the image of Christ.
Transition: So, with emotions intact, let us turn now to … As you are turning there, let me share some of the historical context of the psalm.
Historical/Psalmist: There are many theories on the historical context of . Some, place it in the life of David, some in the time of the exile in Babylon, and still others during the intertestamental period or in the 400-years between the Old and New Testament scriptures. is a Maskil or a type of song by the Sons of Korah. The Sons of Korah or Korahites were probably the descendants of Korah that led the rebellion against Moses, for we know that Korah’s children did not die, according to Number 26:11. The Korahites became gate keepers in the temple, a gild of singers and were mentioned as supporters of David in his conflict against Saul. (1 Chro. 12:6) [So, since this Psalm comes from the Sons of Korah, I’m placing it in during the reign of David.]
Transition: Read with me
[Slide]Text: Psalm 44:1-3
1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.
Historical/Psalmist:
[SLIDE: 44:1]
1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
Let’s look at verse, 1. The Psalmist recalls what his generation was taught as a child. Fathers had taken the time to teach them the history of God’s works and the covenant people. Their fathers had read the scripture to them, their fathers taught them the power and nature of God. [SLIDE]Their fathers had obeyed, , “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”[SLIDE] Parents obeying the commandment of God, , “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.[SLIDE ] As verse 2 tells us, God himself, had driven out the nations from Canaan, “with his own hand”, and planted Israel on His mountain as a tree planted by streams of water. God had done it all. Yes, Israel went into battle with swords and military hardware. Yes, they used their own arms and legs to fight and gained ground, but they would have never been successful if God had not fought for them.
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
Let’s look at verse, 1. The Psalmist recalls what his generation was taught as a child. Fathers had taken the time to teach them the history of God’s works and the covenant people. Their fathers had read the scripture to them, their fathers taught them the power and nature of God.
[SLIDE] Deut. 11:19
Their fathers had obeyed, , “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”
[SLIDE] Parents obeying the commandment of God, , “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.
[SLIDE ] 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
As verse 2 tells us, God himself, had driven out the nations from Canaan, “with his own hand”, and planted Israel on His mountain as a tree planted by streams of water. God had done it all. Yes, Israel went into battle with swords and military hardware. Yes, they used their own arms and legs to fight and gained ground, but they would have never been successful if God had not fought for them.
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free; As verse 2 tells us, God himself, had driven out the nations from Canaan, “with his own hand”, and planted Israel on His mountain as a tree planted by streams of water. God had done it all. Yes, Israel went into battle with swords and military hardware. Yes, they used their own arms and legs to fight and gained ground, but they would have never been successful if God had not fought for them.
Why would God fight for them? (I thought God only helped those who help themselves?) God delighted in them. It was His delight that led him to redeem them. To drive out the nations. To plant Israel in the nations place. It’s not because Israel was great or mighty...
[SLIDE: ], “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
From his youth, the Psalmist heard all these things from his father. [pause]
Transition: The Psalmist also saw the works of God with his own eyes..
Let’s look at verses 4 through 8,
[SLIDE]
4 You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
Historical/Psalmist:
· The Psalmist had not only heard {PAUSE}[LOOK MIDDLE]of the works of God from his parents and those that came before him, but also had seen and experienced the works of God in his own life.
o He ceases to speak of they and them and begins to speak of; Me, my, we, and us.
o The God of scripture isn’t just some tradition of fairytales handed down by his parents, but He is real. He is experiential.
o The psalmist has seen his work with his own eyes and claims Yahweh as his King. [PAUSE]
o He knows all of the benefits and conquest in his life come from the wisdom and power of his King.
o Since I place in the time of David as some scholars do, the Psalmist would have seen David’s conquest of the Philistines, the Moabites, Babylonians, Syrians, Edomites and Ammonites.
o He had seen the salvation of David from Saul and Absalom.
o He realizes that all of the glorious conquest came through the name of Yahweh and His power.
o The Psalmist trust the knowledge and power of God and praises and boast’ in Him continually, and vows to give thanks to God forever.
· Selah, he takes a moment to stop, pause and ponder this truth. To ponder what his ears have heard, and he has been taught, to ponder what he has seen and experienced.
o To reflect of his on love and praises of God in his own life.
o How often do we slow down and do that? How often do we count our blessing?
o How often do we boast in God?
o [PAUSE] BREATHE, THINK ABOUT IT!
o Do we commit ourselves to give thanks to him forever?
Transition: NOW THE NEXT SECTION THROWS US A CURVE BALL. Read with me….in verses 9-16
[SLIDE ]
Example:
9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
Transition: Now, let’s pause right there. It’s time to Selah, to pause and reflect.
[SLIDE: What had gone wrong?]
· Historical/Psalmist:
o The Palmist takes a curious turn.
o He goes from recalling the works of God he learned from his fathers and praising God for his works in his own life……
o …..to accusing God of rejecting His people. [pause]
o Apparently, the Psalmist is experiencing a time suffering like he has never seen before.
o No longer is God saving them from their foes.
o No longer is God putting to shame those that hate them.
o No longer does the Palmist feel the happiness and contentment in the Lord.
o He describes Israel as sheep for slaughter, a byword, taunt, and laughingstock to the nations.
o HE feels shame and disgrace.
· Yahweh did not go out and win the victory for his people.
o The army was abandoned.
o Any military defeat in ancient Israel was seen as a complete rejection of Israel by God.
o Why? What had gone wrong?
o How could the King of Glory that had fought for his people so many times in the past and planted them in the land, fail to fight for them?
o How could the Lord allow his people to be reviled?
· Israel must have been disobedient. [pause][look left] [SLIDE Duet. 4:27] They must have turned from following God, for God had promised that if they were disobedient like that, He would “And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you”. () [pause]
Why? Why was this suffering happening? [pause]
Transition: Read with me
[SLIDE ]
17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
Historical/Psalmist:
· But wait, the Psalmist says that they had not been unfaithful.
o What? All their disgrace and defeats in the face of their enemies just happened.
o He says that they had not been false to the covenant and had not turned back from the way of God.
· If this were true, why wasn’t God sustaining them? Why did He not fight for them?
· The Psalmist basically says, “God is my witness” when he states in verses 20 and 21, [SLIDE ] “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.”
· God knew that they had been faithful!
· He was like, “God you know that we have been faithful!” [pause]
o “God why are we suffering?” [pause]
[SLIDE ]
· Look at verse 22, “Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” Psalm 44:22
· sheep to be slaughtered?
· God’s chosen people are as sheep to be slaughtered?
· They go out to battle, they are being scattered and turn back and slaughtered like defenseless sheep because Yahweh is not fighting for them.
· How can we understand this?
· What had gone wrong?
· Why was this happening?
· Does God no longer love His people? [pause]
Transition:
Paul actually quotes verse 22 in . [ SLIDE] Let’s read that together.
· :
· Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Missional/ Church:
· Why would Paul quote an Old Covenant Psalm and apply it to the church? [Pause] {look around]
· Paul asked a question at the beginning of verse 35.
o “Who shall separate us for the love of Christ?”
· Just as it was right for the psalmist to question why this suffering was happening to God’s righteous people,
o so Paul realizes that the church must ask the same question when we suffer at times.
· When we have tribulations and distress.
· When we are persecuted or lack our basic needs.
· When we are in danger of violence or oppression from without and within.
· When you serve Christ faithfully and you don’t get that promotion at work because you live with Christian ethics and integrity. [pause]
· When you serve Christ faithfully and your stance for the truth of God’s Word gets you fired from your job or sued. [pause]
· When you serve Christ, faithfully, and you have a medical condition that limits you. [pause]
· When you serve Christ faithfully and your child gets severely ill, or even dies. [pause]
· When you walk with Christ himself for three and a half years and you watch him be arrested, beaten and killed…. [pause]
· [Jesus:]
o Even the true and perfect offspring of Abraham, Jesus, felt rejected.
o Christ was abandoned by his friends.
o He was the laughing stock for our sake.
o He was led as a lamb for slaughter and turned over to his enemies.
o Christ was ultimately rejected and scorned.
o He took the shame of the cross.
o It seemed as though the battle was over.
o Christ felt the weight of his mission and the path of suffering.
o On the cross, Quoting Jesus, cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [SLIDE “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”]
o [Pause]{look around]
· Transition: Christian why would we think that our life would be any different than that our LORD’s? [Pause]
· [Jesus:] Was Christ not reviled, scorned, broken and slaughtered?
o Was not written prophesying of Him? [SLIDE ]
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
· Transition: Christ teaches us that the church will suffer in :
· [SLIDE , 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
o 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
· [SLIDE Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
o 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
· [SLIDE “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
o 24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
Church…….. , is our Saturday Psalm…… [pause]
· In the mist of hardship and suffering
· When we feel, [pause] as the disciples felt between the death and resurrection of Christ,
· When the darkness of the valley of death over shadows you in your suffering Saturday.
Transition: What can we say… but? [SLIDE ]
Awake O LORD! Why have you forsaken me?
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Lord help ME!
Lord Help US!
· However, Paul shows us that Christ meets us IN the mist of these trials and tribulations.
· Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
No one and nothing!
[SLIDE: ] “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
· We are conquerors IN these trials!
· When we suffer and are scattered, we are conquerors.
· When we are scorned by those around us, we are conquerors!
· When we are the laughingstock to the peoples, we are conquerors!
· When we lose a child or loved one, we are conquerors!
· When we are as sheep to be slaughtered, we are MORE than conquerors.
· We know that through the sufferings of Christ, He conquered Satan, Sin and Death and IS reigning from on high.
· Brothers and sisters, we are to image Christ. [pause]
· We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ!
· Christ is reigning now!
· Christ will continue to reign and conquer until he destroys the last enemy of death.
· So, whether it’s marginalization, discrimination, persecution, death, or the suffering that comes from living in this fallen world….. We are conquerors through Christ.
Conclusion:
· Exodus Church,
o Knowing what we have heard and been taught from our physical and spiritual fathers,
o Seeing and experiencing the mercies of King Jesus in our lives,
o When we are suffering, and overcome by the enemy,
o Let us remember our Saturday Psalm,
o Let us cry out in faith, our prayer,
[SLIDE ]
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
[SLIDE ]
26 Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
[SLIDE ]
8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.
For it is His steadfast love that causes us to boast in Christ continually and give thanks to him forever.
Church, whether its spiritual or physical forces that cause us to suffer let us be as Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley.
Listen to their story…..
[SLIDE; Mr. Latimer and Mr. Ridley]
· On October 16, 1555, after spending eighteen months as prisoners in a tower of London, the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, “Bloody Mary”, had Latimer and Ridley sent to the stake to be burned in Oxford, England.
· With Latimer in a frock and cap, and Ridley in his bishop’s gown, the two men talked and prayed together before a smith lashed them to the wooden stake.
· Ridley was the first to strengthen his friend. “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it.”
· As the bundle of sticks caught fire beneath them, Latimer had his turn. Raising his voice so Ridley could hear, he cried, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
· {pause}
· Three years later, Bloody Mary died and passed the kingdom to her half-sister Elizabeth, a Protestant queen.
· Hundreds had witnessed the death of Latimer and Ridley
· And Latimer and Ridley’s courage, thankfulness, and boasting in God led that English candle to burst into a torch.
· The torch was carried by missionaries, tradesmen, and pilgrims to the “New World” where it continues to grow and spread around the world.
· Just as the sufferings of Christ set the fire of his Kingdom that spread throughout the world.
· Our sufferings have a purpose, they are meaningful, and we conquer in them.
How about you? {pause, Look around}
Do you rely on the steadfast love of God in your time of suffering?
Will you boast in Christ and give thanks to his name forever?
Let us pray…….